The case before the justices on Monday involves Joseph Kennedy, a Christian and former football coach at Bremerton High School in Bremerton, Washington. Kennedy started coaching at the school in 2008 and initially prayed alone on the 50-yard line at the end of games. But students started joining him, and over time he began to deliver a short, inspirational talk with religious references. Kennedy did that for years and also led students in locker room prayers. The school district learned what he was doing in 2015 and asked him to stop.
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Kennedy stopped leading students in prayer in the locker room and on the field but wanted to continue praying on the field himself, with students free to join if they wished. Concerned about being sued for violating students’ religious freedom rights, the school asked him to stop his practice of kneeling and praying while still “on duty” as a coach after the game. The school tried to work out a solution so Kennedy could pray privately before or after the game. When he continued to kneel and pray on the field, the school put him on paid leave.
Kennedy’s lawyer, Paul Clement, told the justices that the Constitution’s freedom of speech and freedom of religion guarantees protect his “private religious expression.”
Richard Katskee, a lawyer for the school district, said public school employees can have quiet prayers by themselves at work even if students can see. But, he said, Kennedy’s actions pressured students to pray and also caused a safety issue.
After Kennedy publicized his dispute with the school district in the media, spectators stormed the field to pray with him, knocking down students in the process. He noted that coaches have a power that is “awesome.” “The coach determines who makes varsity, who gets playing time” and who gets recommended for college scholarships, he said. “The students know you have to stay in the good graces of the coach if … you have those aspirations.”
Justice Elena Kagan said the court has in past cases cared about “coercion on students and having students feel that they have to join religious activities that they do not wish to join, that their parents do not wish them to join.”
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Kagan is one of three justices on the court to have attended a public high school while the rest attended Catholic schools.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor questioned why Kennedy had to pray on the 50-yard-line immediately after the game rather than other options the school offered: “Why there?” she asked at one point.
Clement said “his religious beliefs” compelled Kennedy to express his thanks there. “I don’t think there’s anything unusual about that,” he said.
A decision is expected before the court begins its summer recess.
The case is Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 21-418.
This article originally appeared here.
